Captain America: Civil War (2016, Dir. The Russo Brothers):
When the Marvel cinematic universe kicked into high gear almost a decade ago, few would have predicted that the guy with the goody-two-shoes American values and goofy helmet would become the lynchpin of the whole shebang. The Iron Man movies have aimed for breezy, smart-alecky fun; Thor has embraced fantasy schlock; and Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man have been offbeat detours. Meanwhile, Captain America has come the closest to supplying this essentially weightless superhero universe with a spine. The previous entry in the series, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), may not have been the most exciting or fun Marvel flick, but it had a sense of gravity to both the action sequences and storytelling, and flirted with actual consequences, all of it set in a political milieu that wasn’t too far removed from our troubled current times. While Winter Soldier might have concluded with the usual pyrotechnics and helicarriers falling from the skies, the film’s soul lay with its hero, and his straightforward, inclusive rebellion against tyranny of all forms: “I know I’m asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. If I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”
Captain America: Civil War is burdened with heavier lifting for both its characters and storylines: Not only must it resolve the conflict between Cap (Chris Evans) and his erstwhile buddy Bucky (Sebastian Stan), who has been brainwashed into becoming the killing machine known as the Winter Soldier, but it must also address the implications of superheroes leaving collateral damage in their wake (after all, an entire city was decimated in Avengers: Age of Ultron), while laying the groundwork for the upcoming Avengers Infinity War epic, and giving a bunch of new heroes time to shine (including a certain web-slinger from Queens). With all of that busy-ness, it’s no surprise that Civil War isn’t as cohesive as Winter Soldier, but it’s better than Age of Ultron, which was a storm of sound and fury that added up to nearly nothing. Thank the Russo brothers, who also directed Winter Soldier. Like that movie, Civil War adds a touch of grit to its super-powered action, and throws in some serious-minded themes for good measure. Call it a high-calorie, high-protein treat.
Civil War gets off to a sprightly start, as an Avengers mission in Lagos shows off the new team to bone-crunching effect: Sam Wilson the “Falcon” (Anthony Mackie) swoops and dives and wisecracks, Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) whips out the parkour, Steve Rogers (aka the Cap) throws his mighty shield, and the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) lays on her telekinetic hocus-pocus. But when a save-the-day maneuver results in the accidental deaths of a dozen innocents, the world is not amused and Secretary of State Ross (a buttoned-up William Hurt) has an ultimatum for our heroes: submit to United Nations supervision, or risk censure and even detention. Buying into the new accords is Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), aka Iron Man, leading to a schism between Tony and Steve that mirrors our Homeland Security debates of today. “Compliance, reassurance, that’s how the world works,” says Ross, and Tony, haunted by the deaths he’s caused and ever the realpolitik man, agrees: “I’m doing what needs to be done to stave off something worse.” Steve, as one would expect from someone from the Greatest Generation, takes the side of Lady Liberty and the right to choose (and take individual responsibility for) one’s battles: “We may not be perfect but the safest hands are still our own.”
As the spat between the fellow Avengers sweeps their buddies into the fray, everyone forced to choose a side, the situation is muddied by the reappearance of the Winter Soldier, who seems to be responsible for an attack on a Vienna peace conference that claims the life of Wakanda’s king — but is the enigmatic Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl) behind it all, and what are his intentions? The king’s son T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) isn’t waiting for answers; assuming the mantle of Black Panther, he’s ready to slice and dice the Winter Soldier. Cap decides to go rogue in a last-ditch effort to save Bucky, while Tony is ordered to rein Steve in. Needing additional firepower, Iron Man pays an unannounced visit to nerdy Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland), with the added bonus of Marisa Tomei as Aunt May (A sexy Aunt May? That’ll blow a bunch of fanboy minds). “You’re Spider-Boy?” Stark asks. “S-Spider-Man,” Parker stammers. “Not in that onesie, you’re not,” Stark retorts.
Yes, it’s an awful lot to chew on. Although screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely tame all these elements into a reasonably cogent narrative, it doesn’t prevent Civil War from having a distended feel, especially in its opening reels. Try as the Russo brothers might to goose up the action with jittery frames and whipping camera moves, they have a hard time finding their rhythm. Downey Jr.’s Stark is allowed to hit some rare serious notes, but Evans doesn’t have as much dramatic meat to chew on, and is often sidelined by the plot machinations around him. Steve and Bucky’s friendship, and Bucky’s potential redemption, is given especially short shrift; it doesn’t help that Stan, while convincing in the action scenes, plays Bucky with the depth of a 5 a.m. hangover. (He does get a funny bit in the back seat of a VW Bug.) For much of the film’s running time, the story clunks along, as we drift between faceless cities in Europe. Zemo’s endgame is dependent on a few folks being in exactly the right place at the right time, and when the climax finally rolls in, the plot has nearly been stretched to the breaking point.
Not that Marvel has ever been all that interested in villains, or plot: in becoming the king of long-game storytelling in its movies, the studio has recognized that the best way to hook an audience is throw in appetizers for future main courses — thus we have Martin Freeman popping in as a UN official for no compelling reason other than serving as a tease for his next film appearance. We get intimations of romance between the Scarlet Witch and the artificial humanoid Vision (Paul Bettany) — this one is for the fans who know they get married in the comics — and the script includes a smooch with Steve and agent Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) because those versed in Marvel lore are aware that they eventually end up together, even though Evans has more chemistry with Johannson. And then of course there’s Spidey, clearly thrown into the story as a last-minute decision (Marvel had just reacquired the rights to the character) — still, who can complain when he’s as fun as he is here? Holland is the youngest actor to have played Spider-Man on the screen, but his comic timing and wide-eyed enthusiasm give Civil War a lift, and yes, now our appetites are whetted for the inevitable Spider-Man movie.
Natasha Romanoff: We’re still friends, right?
Clint Barton: That depends on how hard you hit me.
Civil War might make gestures towards political commentary and Big Ideas, but it really gets cooking when it goes small. Marvel’s advantage over DC’s superhero movies has always resided in its dysfunctional, bickering characters, and the time the studio has spent in nurturing them. When things get personal in Civil War, and we get down to the nitty-gritty of superheroes confronting each other, the film reaches some giddy heights. While most of Civil War‘s setpieces lack the pizzazz and concision the Russo brothers brought to Winter Soldier‘s battles, the movie’s show-stopping brawl on an airfield, superheroes big and small going at each other, might be Marvel’s finest cinematic moment yet. As we seesaw between comedy, tragedy, and ooh-ah moments of spectacle, every character gets his or her chance to shine, with Paul Rudd stealing the show in his Ant-Man cameo (“Wow, this is awesome! Captain America!”). In stark contrast to the overblown save-the-world climaxes of previous Marvel movies, the finale of Civil War is as simple as you can get, and more affecting as a result: three men beating the bejesus out of each other in a room, all of them afflicted with pain, guilt, and the belief that what they’re doing is right. The Russo brothers may not be the most distinctive filmmakers, but they’re more than just traffic cops — no other Marvel directors have proven to be as adept as they are at balancing wit, action choreography, and dramatic stakes.
Captain America: Civil War winds down to a melancholic finish, like an intake of breath before the deluge. Many of the film’s loose threads will no doubt find their resolution in future movies — that’s the way comics work, after all — but for once, the irresolute ending doesn’t feel like a come-on for the next entry in a blockbuster franchise, but a well-earned moment of ambivalence. What lingers from Civil War aren’t the debates over security and responsibility, or the bad guy’s machinations — it’s the sight of Tony and Steve staring each other down, both battered and exhausted, unsure of what will happen next. Uncertainty becomes these characters, and the Marvel universe in general. ■
